As someone who greatly disliked 'Suicide Squad' (2016), I went into this anime with tempered expectations. It turns out that this anime, 'Isekai Suicide Squad' (2024), feels nothing like that notorious movie.
The best way to enjoy this anime is by not comparing it to any 'suicide squad' IP iterations in the past, as this show has at times a drastically different spin on all the characters. Also to not take this anime too seriously, as the main appeal is the humour, which in this show is largely derived from how these characters interact. Does it succeed in this?
In short, yes. But first of all I'll talk about the bad. The Joker in this universe, who sparsely appears, seems more like he is from some Yaoi 'Boys Love' anime than any other iteration you have seen of him. I greatly despise his character design, which looks like something a 2007 emo band with only preteen fans would wear. As the show went on I began to find the humour in how absurd this iteration of Joker is, as while I doubt this was the intention of the creators, it really is amusing to watch. Other negative aspects of this show are the often boring background art, a cookie cutter fantasy setting, at times underwhelming action, and a lack of emotional weight across the board. Character exploration and development is seemingly absent thus far. So, what makes up for these flaws?
The best part about this show are the charming main characters and the great chemistry in their interactions. The dialogue and voice acting for their conversations is on point, both when they are backing each other up and more often when they're arguing against one another. The ever flustered Cecil and Rick Flag work great as the straight man, a common character role to elevate comedies. Even alone, these characters are very charming and likeable, and frankly every single one is far written than their character equivalents I saw in 'Suicide Squad' (2016), especially Deadshot, who in this anime version is far more expressive and explosive of a personality, which is the cause of many great dynamics and jokes. This anime often just takes a character and exaggerates their characteristics to help contrast and play off each other better, as having characters who are all too similar makes for a very boring team. How do the other aspects of this show fare?
The animation is passable, with very small instances of them going above average, and as many or more instances of them going below average in quality.
The whole show is very influenced by American pop-culture, which is revealed in much of their jokes (which are charmingly sincere amusements at worst) and especially in their music, much of which is hip-hop inspired.
The designs of the main characters outside of Joker are all well done, possessing a loud style which reflects their personalities well while staying simple enough and recognizable. The pacing has no issues with me, as the anime is nothing if not entertaining. Now, what's my verdict?
This'll be a controversial anime for the reasons I have listed. The best question to ask yourself is if you had fun watching, whether you could escape for 20 minutes and be entertained. For me, the answer is a resounding yes.
7/10
